The Steel Guitar Forum

I have to jump in with some thoughts. First for Lloyd, I loved your tone even when it wasn't warm and mellow as you describe it. The "Steel Guitar Sounds Of" LP was pretty brassy, but definitely had great tone. Also Buddy E. often talks bad about "the blade" when he had a guitar that was real trebely (sic), but it still sounded great to most of us. I'm of the school that says great tone is in the hands and feet and less in the axe. I've seen Jeff Newman play four different brands in a row and sound pretty similar on all (but I will say that changing your strings will always improve your tone).
The next point is that your tone will vary incredibly to your ears (but not much to your audience), depending on what's around your amp (how close another musician is standing to your amp and the curtains, etc.), and how full the club is. You'll often sound pretty good during sound check in an empty club where the sound is bouncing back to you and your tone will sound nice and fat and clear. Then when the club fills up, the sound gets absorbed and just dies when it comes out of the amp. So much of tone is in how you're hearing it. Then, if you're getting good tone and sustain, it allows you to have a split second extra to think about your next notes and lets you play better and more confidently. Hope I haven't rambled too much. Joe

Bobbe, I've been reading the replies to this thread with much interest and to me there seems to be some confusion between tone and touch. In my opinion tone in itself can be defined in many ways. For my particular taste I consider muddiness, poor tone. Others may love it that way. Some players prefer lots of highs while others may describe this kind of tone as being thin. Personally I like a nice combination of highs and lows without any muddiness but neither one of these describes touch which is what I think it's all about.

To me touch is that wonderful combination of a beautiful vibrato with your left hand, a feather light touch with your right hand and knowing how to work your volume pedal to perfection so that what comes out is silk plus soul. That's what I look for when I listen to a steel player and what separates a great player from others. My guess is that this is what Lloyd is saying. Just my two cents worth. Hope to see you in Dallas.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Neil Flanz on 15 March 2002 at 01:13 AM.]</p></FONT>

WHO SAID THAT??

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Neil did,just now, didn't you hear him?? <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Billy Johnson on 15 March 2002 at 07:40 AM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Billy Johnson on 15 March 2002 at 07:42 AM.]</p></FONT>

It still looks like, after me typing this out now for several years, that a lot of folks still don't understand that The "TONE" I'm talking about is the VOICE of the guitar.
I dont care how much bass or treble is on it, that's not timbre, voice,quality etc.
Twin brothers may look identical, but there will be differences in the way their voices sound. You can identify George Jones on record, no matter how much treble or bass is on the machine playing it. It is a quality that makes great "tone, timbre, voice" etc.
The "VOICE" of the guitar is what's important,If it's bad, you can't fix it in the mix or anywhere else. If it's good, the quality is hard to hide also. Treble and bass can always be changed, timbre can not. I have heard most of these great (famous) players play good guitars and I've heard them play bad guitars, BELIEVE ME when I say they sound a lot better on good equipment.
I'm making factual statements here, baised on front line experiences, 42 years of dealing directly with all pro players,in a high pressure, professional enviroment. It isn't up to me to try to educate everyone in this field, what I'm doing is offering my professional findings to those that care to listen.

Bobbe Seymour

Very well said Bobbe.

Jeremy